Clan Crushbone (Hardcore Heritage Revamp)
The Hardcore Heritage revamp of Clan Crushbone is a static zone that temporarily replaces Clan Crushbone on all standard servers, for a specific timeframe each year. Like other Hardcore Heritage zones, it is usually a popular hunting ground while active, both for nostalgia reasons and for the loot that drops within. Mobs in the revamped Crushbone are tuned for players in the level 85 to 90 range and drop loot with a level 85 req. (See below for more information.) A high elf NPC named Elwin Faerlin in the zone-in tunnel offers a mini raid expedition called Crushbone: Demise of the Emperor. This raid is only available while the Hardcore Heritage revamp of Crushbone is active. Loot Loot in the Hardcore Heritage version of Crushbone is comparable in power to that found in tier 3 House of Thule zones, but lacks the Prestige tag usually found on tier 3 and higher items, which makes it desirable for players not using a Gold Membership. For players who lack a Gold Membership (cannot use Prestige items) and also have not purchased any expansions beyond House of Thule (capped at level 90), many of these drops are best in slot. Drops include Glowing Reis armor tokens that can be turned into Thach Jerden in PoK for req 85 visible equipment, along with various other Crushbone-themed items, which are also req 85. While the Reis tokens are tradable, all other loot is No Trade (which stands in contrast to the attuneable loot found in the level 70 to 80 Hardcore Heritage revamps). Like other Thach Jerden armor tokens, all of the Reis tokens (except the wrists) are also Lore, limiting how many pieces a single character can stock up on. Because of all of this, people farming equipment for alts may wish to precamp the character(s) nearby, or have some other way to quickly port them in. Strategic Notes Clan Crushbone's surprisingly close-quartered zone layout and high mob density made it famous for trains during its classic-era heyday, and the revamped version of the zone keeps this danger very much intact. When scouting the zone alone, moving around invisible is strongly advised, both to avoid aggro from patrols and to avoid unpleasant interactions with other players' trains. The majority of mobs do no see invis, but a few from inside the citadel's throne room and tower do. NPCs in this zone, including named, do not summon and are vulnerable to snare, mez, and other crowd control, making kiting and root rotting viable options for killing here, even when hunting named for loot. The orcs count as humanoids for the ranger's Headshot AA, allowing higher-level rangers to slay many of the trash mobs with ease. (The berserker's Decapitation, and other Headshot-like abilities, also work.) Farming Emperor Crush Emperor Crush's respawn timer is surprisingly fast, and farming him for his Crushed Bone Sliver augment (and Reis loot) is a commonplace activity in this revamp. Various methods exist for accomplishing this. The most straightforward approach to Crush involves cutting through the mobs in the ciradel's throne room to clear a path to tower where Crush resides. A level-appropriate party undertaking this will want to bring a strong source of crowd control, as the throne room is a veritable beehive of orcish fury. It is also possible to skip the throne room and still engage Crush at his spawn point by climbing "trainer hill" (the hill with the orc trainer on it, just to the right as one enters the grassy part of the zone) and levitating over to the roof of the citadel. From there it is an easy jaunt to the roof of Crush's tower itself. Since Crush and other creatures in the tower see through invisibility, the party's tank (if a player) should levitate in first to get aggro, with the other players following shortly after. (If Ambassador D`Vinn is also alive, this method may prove more dangerous than usual.) Finally, due to the way that NPC calls for help work in EverQuest, it is possible for a bard to pull Emperor Crush all the way out of the citadel by levitating near the tower to gain line of sight on a trash mob near Crush, and then using a mez ability on the target. This will cause Crush and one or two additional friends to come running, but the mezed mob will be the only one calling for help, causing Crush to run foolishly all the way out of his citadel without the whole throne room coming with him. While Crush is in transit, the bard levitates away down the corridor south of the citadel (along the bottom of "trainer hill") and waits for Crush and his few adds to get outside and isolated. That done, the bard uses Fading Memories before tagging Crush to re-aggro him. Rangers with Harmonious Arrow can achieve the above with an even more seamless result, and knights with Hate's Attraction type abilities can use them to tug Crush into a more favorable spot.